It’s too easy in the modern era we live in to become consumed by all the calamities occurring around the globe.
Global climate change is melting the ice caps and causing the sea to rise.
Elephants being slaughtered for their tusks in Africa.
People around the world who are hungry, thirsty, or both.
Rampant unemployment.
Deforestation.
And on.
And on.
And on.
I’m not saying these things aren’t problems, they most certainly are. They’re just not YOUR problems.
Your Limited Bandwidth
First, the obvious.
We are all given the exact same amount of time per day. You only have 24 hours today to do all the things that are necessary for your survival, just like me, and just like everyone else.
A critical ingredient to a life of fulfillment and happiness is proper time management so that you can accomplish the things that will bring you the most joy, and least discomfort. Since your time is so limited, spend it on the things that matter most to YOU. Only when your own life is squared away can you influence positivity on other people’s lives.
Stressing about the next supreme court justice or the first container vessel to transit the arctic route will eat up valuable bandwidth and accomplish nothing. These problems, and those like it, are WAY outside your sphere of influence, meaning you can’t change them, and they have no direct impact on you.
However, if you do have a passion to address one of these problems, the only way to have a reasonable chance of influencing them even in the slightest way is to take full control of your life and to achieve the true personal freedom to make that decision.
Be Not The Problem
Here’s the other thing.
If you stretch yourself so thin in an attempt to achieve the impossible without taking care of yourself, you become another problem that someone else is going to sympathize with and go out of their way to solve, thus perpetuating the problem.
Whether it’s food, water, clothing, money, or security; if you don’t take care of your own you’ll be a burden on someone else.
So, take control of your life, take responsibility for your needs, set up systems for them to last forever and only then consider a global pet project.
Focus On YOUR Problems
Here are the areas of your life you should have totally squared away before even considering global problems:
Money
Money, or the lack thereof, is one of the biggest stressors in modern society. Make it, save it, and spend only what you need. It takes a lot of mental bandwidth and energy to do this effectively and to figure out systems for passive revenue generation for perpetuity. Focus your energy here.
Health
You are worthless without your health, and in fact, you quickly become a burden on others when you allow your health to degrade. This, too, takes a tremendous amount of energy and attention to reach and maintain good mental and physical health. Focus your energy here.
Resilience
For many people, life is defined by the hardships endured. Be prepared for the next power outage, a trip to the hospital for a family emergency or for the next time your brakes need to be replaced on your car. These things, and many others, are going to happen in your life. Be prepared to respond or you’ll, again, become a burden on others. Focus your energy here.
Relationships
The people in your life will either set you up for epic success, or hold you back from accomplishing your dreams. Understand who adds value to your life and foster those relationships. They will be the ones who will help you solve problems when they arise. Focus your energy here.
Influence Global Problems at Your Scale
All this is not to say that you cannot still act for yourself in a way that is globally conscious. Everything you do has downstream effects, both on yourself, and by influencing those around you.
- Combat global climate change by riding your bike more and driving less and by kicking your addiction to the consumerist society.
- Contribute to the debacle of the current healthcare industry by eating well and exercising so that you don’t become dependent on it.
- Solve the cancer causing glysophate issue by buying food that is GMO free and from a farmer you trust while supporting your neighbors and growing your community.
- Take action against the vast areas of floating plastics in our ocean by reducing the amount of plastic you buy and diligently recycling that which you do.
Whatever global issue has your jimmies rustled, figure out a way to do your part for that issue at your scale.
Lastly, tell your friends about the action you are taking. Publish pictures of you on your bike grocery shopping at the local farmer’s market to help others find the confidence and courage to take similar action.
Work Out From You
Once you have your own life in good working order migrate toward global problems by working on local problems. Focus on what your community needs, because once your community is healthy and prepared you’ll have way more ammo to work toward problems in your county, then your state, your country, and so on.
Show people what it’s like to live free and responsible and help them accomplish the same. That’s the only way you and I are going to impact global problems.
I hopefully just saved you a tremendous amount of time in front of the TV or scrolling through your news feed. Do me a favor and spread the love by sharing this with someone who matters to you.
Thanks in advance,
NHMan
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